Ask Yavin IV The Journey Begins...

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee could still hardly take her eyes of the beautiful scenery. She had never seen a place like this before. She had already spent some time on Yavin, but this was literally the most amazing place she had seen so far. And there was also something about this place. Something almost magical. And she realized that her master seemed to be consumed by the beauty of this scenery as well, which let her smile.

Once Pêro addressed her again, she listened attentively while shifting her gaze back to her master. She nodded slowly, signaling him that she understood exactly what he meant. The amount of Force she could sense here was intense. It was somehow different than in the jungle, but not less admirable. It was even stronger and clearer, so all she had to do was to focus and to learn how to draw from it.

When he started to surround himself with it, she could sense that something was changing. His own presence was changing. She couldn't quite grasp how he did it, but it was clearly noticeable. She watched him carefully, already eager to try it herself, but she waited until he opened his eyes again and instructed her to do the same. She could feel her excitement grow, but she tried her best to swallow it.

"I'm sorry...but this is unbelievable. It is all still rather new for me, but it is just so remarkable. All those years I had no idea...but I shouldn't get carried away I know" she cautioned herself with a grin, before breathing in and out another time. She know that she would need to focus appropriately and so she did her best to regain her concentration.

Closing her eyes, she started to focus. She tried to sense the Force that was surrounding her and just like before, she pulled it towards her, until she could almost feel herself wrapped in it. Her muscles felt indeed a little sore and her body was exhausted, so it only felt natural to try to direct the Force into her body. She targeted the area of her legs at first, because they felt most exhausted from all the jumping, but she let the Force flood her whole body after that. Relatively fast, she could feel the exhaustion seemingly leaving her muscles and tendons and once she opened her eyes again, she felt almost fully refreshed, like after a good night's sleep. She gasped in disbelief, slightly shaking her head in incredulity. How was that even possible. "I...can not believe it. I feel great" she declared with an amazed smile, her eyes landing back on her master.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

”I know how it’s. I had this same reaction when I started my training.” Pêro said, after Hailee told her impressions about what he had done. “Those that are capable of using the Force can do wonderful things with it, and terrible too.” this last part was said with an ominous tone. She should be aware that in the same measure that the Jedi could do good things, the Sith could do evil ones.

The G’weneen watched his Padawan close her eyes and start to focus. Then, he could feel her surrounding herself with the Force. So far she was doing it right and if Hailee continued this way, she would be able to relieve her tiredness without any problem. Perhaps she had a natural talent for this ability.

As he had expected, Hailee was able to relieve her tiredness with the Force. “Good work, Padawan. I want you to practice it more times during this week. Once you are good enough with it, we will visit the Medical bay. One of the Healers that work here will be able to teach you how to properly heal a wound.” Pêro could do it himself, but he thought that a Healer could be a better teacher for it than him.

Now that she finished with the Force healing, Pêro grabbed the basket with the sandwiches and showed it to Hailee, offering for her to pick some. “We can have a pause for now, before we return to the temple.” the G’weneen said, before picking one for himself. He would turn to look at the waterfalls. “This place is also good to have a relaxing lunch.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee's smile vanished immediately when he mentioned the terrible things. Yes, once again she was somehow painfully reminded of the past. Pêro and the other Jedi had already repeatedly explained that whoever was capable of using the Force, had to be careful as there was also an undeniable strong darkness which needed to be avoided at all costs. Not everyone was trying to do Good, like the Jedi. There were also those that abused their powers. And Hailee had to admit that before she had met Pêro and learned about the Force, she had also been using her powers on Corellia not in the best possible ways.

However, this was not the time to think about that again. She was on the right way now. She swallowed the thoughts and smiled back at her master when he praised her. "I will surely do that, but I've got to admit that I would be thrilled to try to heal an actual wound right now" she admitted enthusiastically. She didn't want to sound impatient, but she was so eager to explore even more and expand her knowledge as fast as possible.


Once he offered her the sandwiches again, she gratefully took another one. "This place is indeed wonderful for a scenic lunch. How often do you come here? And do all the Jedi know about this particular spot?" she replied softly before taking the first bite if their lunch. She was really curious for his answers, but for now she leaned back and even closed her eyes again, enjoying the tranquillity and the comforting presence of the Force around her.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

”I know that you are. It’s normal to be excited to learn new things. However, you need to be careful. You are still a Padawan and the constant use of the Force can leave you exhausted.” Pêro explained to Hailee the reason why he didn’t want to teach her more things today. “We can go calmly with your training, there is no rush.”

While he ate his sandwich, Pêro looked at the sight in front of him. He was always impressed with how such a place could exist. It was said that his homeworld G’wenee was full of such places. However, he was never able to visit them while he lived here, even less now that Sith had conquered the planet.

“I come here sometimes to meditate. As I said, it’s a good place to do it.” the Knight said to his Padawan. “Many other Jedi know about this place.When they want a calm place to meditate, they come here. Nature can do wonders to help focus and connect with the living Force.”

“After we finish our lunch, we will return to the Temple.” Pêro said, after chewing some more of his sandwich. “I think that it was enough for today regarding training with the Force. We can train with lightsabers when we arrive. What do you think of it?” this would be a good opportunity for her to learn how to defend herself in the Jedi way.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Her eyes rested on the amazing view in front of her while she chewed the delicious fresh bread of the sandwiches Pêro made. Once her master addressed her wish for continuing the training session, she shifted her gaze back to the knight. Patience has never been her strong suit and even though she knew that he was probably right, she would have loved to try. However, she forced herself to an accepting nod, but the excited grin had not yet left her lips.

They both finished their sandwiches, but some important thoughts seemed to be crossing her master's mind. She wondered what it was, but she decided not to dig deeper, because if he wanted to tell her what it was, he would have probably done it anyway. Yet she still remained curious, but fortunately the conversation went on afterwards, thereby distracting her again.

"Oh yes. I can imagine that. This place is so vivid...it almost seems to be overflowing with the Force." she agreed with him still smiling while she let her gaze wander over the scenery yet another time. Today was her first official day of training and a few hours ago, she hadn't even believed that she would be able to manage the art of meditation in any way, but right now, it felt all so natural somehow. All the doubts she had when she first came to Yavin IV were forgotten at this exact moment and this feeling was great and somehow even liberating.

When he mentioned the word 'lightsabers', her pupils diluted in excitement. "Yes definitely! I have literally healed myself from all the exhaustion and with this delicious lunch, I feel fully energetic and ready to train!", she replied, maybe a little too exuberant. She couldn't wait to begin though. On Corellia, she had learned how to defend herself with knives, blasters and without any weapons at all, but since she had started to get into contact with the Jedi, she couldn't wait to learn how to use lightsabers. They were efficient and impressive at once and she was convinced that they were actual lifesavers. The prospect of beginning to train with them thrilled her.
@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro smiled with Hailee’s excitement regarding the training with lightsabers. Seeing her acting this way, the Knight couldn’t believe that it was the same woman that he met in Corellia after she used a mind trick against a man. She looked far more innocent and happy. The G’weneen thought that it suited her.

Once they finished the sandwiches, Pêro got up from where he was seated and picked the basket. “Come, if we still want to practice with lightsabers, we need to arrive at the Temple before it gets dark.” their walk here had consumed some good amount of time, they would need to go back faster if they wanted to continue with the training.

The Knight would lead their way back to the Temple, this time they would walk rather than go jumping through the branches. Pêro didn’t see the necessity to repeat this lesson now. Hailee could practice this ability again another time. Now she would be able to see how the forests of Yavin IV were from the ground.

Their walk back to the Temple would happen without any problem.They didn’t cross the path of klikniks or any other predator of the forest. When they crossed the gates, Pêro turned to his Padawan. “I’ll leave this basket at the kitchen, you can go to the training grounds.” when they arrived here for the first time, the G’weneen had shown her the entire Temple, including this area. “I’ll also need to pick something. Once I do it, I’ll meet you here.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee nodded eagerly and got up quickly when her master did the same. It was true. The afternoon was already approaching and it seemed like they had some more hours ahead of them, but Hailee couldn't wait to go on. So far, everything she had experienced here on Yavin was truly thrilling and she couldn't believe how fast her life had changed in such a short period of time. She didn't have to be misstrusting here. She didn't have to be on her guard all the time, always prepared to defend herself. It was peaceful and she was learning so much, day for day, which was truly wonderful.

They took the normal way back, following a secluded path through the jungle. The landscape was still breathtaking, even though it was clearly different from the view they had when they took the airy path over branches a while ago. Hailee was amazed by all the smaller living creatures and birds they encountered, but the way back felt way faster. They had soon reached the gates of the temple again and Pêro addressed her, asking her to already visit the training grounds. "Alright, then I'll see you there in a bit" she replied with a warm smile, already excited to get started.

She took the direct path, soon reaching the designated training space. Once she had arrived, she watched a young padawan being trained by his master a few yards away while she waited for Pêro to return. She started to pace around slightly, thinking about whether he would bring her an actual lightsaber already. She really couldn't wait to get started, but she knew that excitement wasn't the best emotion, so she forced herself to calm down. Also, she remembered what Pêro had taught her this morning, so she even closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the Force surrounding her, using it to calm her further.

 

[Pêro Erval]

After Hailee left, Pêro walked toward the kitchen. Here, the G’weneen left the empty basket. He wasn’t surprised that they ate all the sandwiches that he had made for them. After all the walk and use of the Force, it was obvious that they were going to end hungry.

Once he did it, the Knight walked toward the room where the training lightsabers were stored. Hailee would need one of them to practice and she would also use it when they left the Temple. It was going to be hers until the day that she was prepared to make her own. How long it would take was going to depend on how well she was with her training.

When he found a good lightsaber, Pêro placed in inside a box and left the room, walking toward the training ground. He found Hailee focusing on the Force, using the meditation techniques that he taught to her early. The Knight felt happy with it. She was showing the discernment of using it without him needing to say. Few Padawans showed it early on in their training.

“Padawan, are you prepared to start the training?” Pêro said, before stopping in front of her. “I brought you something.” he offered the box to her. “Inside it is a training lightsaber. You are going to use it until you are prepared to make your own.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

It didn't take much time until she could sense something out of a sudden. There was a shift in the Force. Someone was approaching her and she had an assumption who that could be. However, sensing him approach her so intensely was an interesting feeling.

On Corellia, she had already discovered that she could sense people from time to time, but she had never done it on purpose. It had been coincidence instead, and now she had actually learned how to do it, which felt great and yet exciting. She reopened her eyes, directly facing her master again, a genuine smile on her lips.

When he mentioned the lightsaber, her pupils dilated in excitement. What was even more exciting than receiving a trainings lightsaber was that he was mentioning that she would make her own some day. She opened the box and encompassed the hilt, carefully testing its weight and dynamics in her right hand soon after. It was a bit heavier than she had expected, but not exhaustingly heavy.

She wondered how it would feel if she would activate the actual blade, but no matter how excited and ready she felt, she would wait for him to tell her to activate it. What she could however already sense was the power hidden inside it."I have to admit that I have never wielded a weapon like this before. I am excited to start our session, but I'm afraid I might embarrass myself" she admitted honestly, but humorously. She had always used smaller weapon, that was why it was difficult for her to even assume the correct stance, not to mention the correct way to hold the hilt. Nevertheless she was convinced that he would teach her soon.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro watched his Padawan carefully remove the lightsaber out of the box. The way that she acted seemed as if she was afraid of breaking it, but Hailee looked at the weapon like a child that had received a new gift. He could feel how she was excited to start using it.

What Hailee said made a smile appear at the G’weneen lips. “You don’t need to be afraid of getting embarrassed. This will be the first time that you are going to use it, it’s only natural if you don’t know how to do it. We are here exactly for you to learn and after some practice, you will be able to fight perfectly.” Pêro didn’t want his Padawan to feel afraid of failure. It was only part of the process of learning.

“When a Jedi fights with their lightsaber, they can use several forms of wielding it. I’ll start teaching you the Form I, also known as the Shii-Cho. This one is the most basic of all the combat forms and was created when the Jedi still used simple swords.” he said, before leaving the box in a corner and taking position in the middle of the training grounds.

Then, he picked his lightsaber and activated it, the blue blade appearing out the hilt. “I’ll show you how this form is executed and then you are going to imitate it.” Pêro started to move, according to the positions of how Form I was realized. Once he finished, the G’weneen would wait for Hailee to start doing it.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

His comment did manage to soothe her. After all, he was completely right. It was her first time wielding a weapon like this, so it was only natural that she would need a few sessions to get the hang of it. She was smiling warmly, as he had found some very encouraging words for her. She was rather confident that she would learn it fastly, but she really thought that the beginning might be hard. "Thank you for your faith in me" she replied genuinely grateful, before she urged herself not to become too sentimental right now. She would never be able to express how thankful she was for all he had done for her already, but she was trying to repay him by being a good padawan.

She followed him into the middle of the trainings ground, keeping her safe distance while staying close enough to watch every move closely and listening attentively at the same time. She had no idea that there were different so called forms of wielding the lightsaber and she wondered how many forms there were, but his explanation was interesting. So Jedi started off with simple swords...The story made her really curious, but she would ask him for a history lesson later on.

Once he started, he watched him carefully and completely focused. She had to admit that he wielded the saber in such a controlled way that she was afraid she wouldn't perform well at all. After all, she had no idea about this weapons dynamics and behavior, but she was about to find out about that anyway. When he was done, he shot her an almost expectant look and this was when she took another deep breath before activating the blue lightsaber.

The feeling changed in an instance. The lightsaber felt completely different once activated and she had never felt something that powerful before. This was clearly nothing like a vibro-blade, but as she didn't want to get carried away, she forced herself to remain focused. She tried to remember all of his movements, imitating him as best as she could. She felt like she was concentrated and yet moving with that lightsaber felt so wrong. She had no idea how to place her feet, nor how to move her hand appropriately. The energy radiating from the lightsaber felt uncontrollably. Admittedly, she was starting to feel completely overwhelmed and intimidated out of a sudden and she was fearing she might hurt herself even.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro watched Hailee move into the center of the training grounds and activate her lightsaber. The Knight could feel through the Force how she was intimidated by the weapon that she was holding. While someone else would say something to calm the Padawan, he decided to remain in silence and let the woman try. He wanted to see what was going to happen.

Hailee started well. She mimicked the position that he used to instruct her, but soon her movements became erratic and confused. Pêro saw his Padawan acting as if the lightsaber was going to hurt her. It wasn’t necessary, the lightsaber wasn’t her enemy. Beyond the Force, it was the greatest ally of the Jedi.

Before Hailee could hurt herself, Pêro moved to intervene. He approached his Padawan and placed a hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to make her stop moving erratically. Then, the Knight placed his other hand over her’s, signaling for her to stop moving it.

“You can stop now.” Pêro said, waiting for Hailee to deactivate the lightsaber. “What happened? I felt that you were feeling uncomfortable while holding it activated. Did the idea of using such a weapon scare you?”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Her heartbeat had been unvoluntarily starting to accelerate while the unpleasant feeling in her guts intensified. It was not only strange to wield this unfamiliar power, but almost terrifying. Arguably, it her fear didn't make much sense because the Force was also an unfamiliar weapon, but in contrast to the lightsaber, wielding the Force had not only felt completely natural but it had also been extremely easy.

She got so carried away that she hardly realized that her master had started an approach to stop her. She was just about to attempt a swift, yet desperate movement with the saber when she could feel his touch. Immediately, she stopped, fortunately right before she would have come dangerously close to him with the weapon, but once she was frozen and deactivated the lightsaber, she could feel herself growing frustrated in no time.

She was blaming this stupid level of respect she had for the new weapon for her failure. Even though her master wasn't known for demonstrating many emotions, he immediately hit a weak spot. He had approached her softly, which was why she could keep herself from losing her temper, but it was still a little hard to accept that this first attempt didn't go as planned. She took a deep breath before she faced him, looking into his eyes with a mixture of disappointment and yet a little frustration. " I don't know...At first I was eager to start, but then it seemed like I was intimidated by it subconsciously. It's...difficult to explain but this weapon is extremely powerful. I feel like I could dismember me or even you accidentally in no time and this is kind of terrifying" she admitted honestly. She was really starting to wonder why the Jedi preferred such an overly powerful, potentially even cruel weapon.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro patiently heard what Hailee was saying. He didn’t blame her for feeling afraid of using the lightsaber. It was her first time with such a weapon, and as she had said, it was very different from using a vibroblade. The G’weneen would think that she was reckless if she didn’t show any reaction to it.

“It’s indeed a powerful weapon, but you don’t need to fear the lightsaber. After the Force, it’s the greatest ally of a Jedi.” Pêro said, trying to comfort his Padawan. “You need to be careful while wielding it, but there will be no danger if you don’t use it like some type of toy. Besides, you are using a training one. It’ll not give you wounds.”

Once he noticed that Hailee was calm enough, Pêro would let go of her shoulder and walk back to where he was before she panicked. “Now I want you to try again. This time when you feel the panic rising, you will stop and connect with the Force. This can help you calm down.”

At first, the Knight was going to propose a break, but he could feel that she was frustrated and would probably refuse it. The right thing that they should do now was to continue with her training. He was certain that this time she was going to be more successful than early, Hailee only needed to remain calm.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

Was it fear that she felt? Perhaps not, maybe it was something more like deep respect. His clarification about the harmlessness of the trainings lightsaber made it a little better, but in the end it was not the wounds she was concerned about. It was rather the prospect of wielding an actual lightsaber any time soon, and this thought was a little more terrifying as normal ones were surely lethal.

Was she afraid of wielding something so powerful? Maybe also not completely. It was very difficult to describe, but maybe she didn't have to understand it right now. What mattered most was that panic wasn't the right emotion. She breathed through before she tried to regain her focus. "Thank you. Your words were very comforting", she told her master honestly, a genuine smile back on her lips.

She swallowed both, her concerns and her frustrations and took another breath before she made her way back to the center. "It seems to be alright now", she replied softly before she took her stance again, recalling exactly what he had demonstrated. She concentrated and gathered the Force around her, just like he had instructed her and it really helped her to stay calm and focused. She carried out the movements like he had, still not fully certain, but sufficient nonetheless. They were not even difficult, but she had finally gotten the hang of it.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

Pêro smiled at Hailee. He could feel that after talking with her, the Padawan had started to calm down. "When you start to use a true lightsaber, you will need to be careful when using it. However, this sensation of fear that you felt while holding it will not exist anymore. The act of a Jedi building their saber also creates a bond between them and the kyber crystal that will be used as its core."

"You will have its loyalty and I trust that you aren’t going to use it as a toy." his Padawan seemed to have understood that the lightsaber was a weapon that could cause severe wounds if used carelessly. Even if it was the greatest ally of the Jedi, she couldn’t underestimate the damage that she could cause on herself with it.

When she was calm enough, Pêro watched Hailee once again try to repeat the movements of the Form I that he had shown to her. This time she was capable of mimicking it correctly and there wasn’t the same panic from early. However, the G’weneen noticed that there was still a small uncertainty on her movements. It was something that they would need to deal with during future training sessions.

"Good work, Padawan! Now I want you to try it again." Pêro said, before a smile appeared on his lips. As soon as she finished, he would end their day of training. It was already getting late and dinner would be served in a few hours. After this day out, they would need a shower before going to eat.

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

She felt much better with her second performance after they have had their little talk. She was really thankful that he had soothed her so much and that's why she gave him another grateful, but also partly proud smile. After she was done, she listened to him attentively again and what he said suprised her strongly. "You've told me before that I will build my own lightsaber, but I never thought it would create a bond" , she admitted, visibly a little amazed. "That's honestly so interesting. How old were you when you created yours?", she then asked him curiously, her head slightly tilted to the side.

When he urged her to try again, she immediately nodded obediently, starting to imitate his movements another time. It was still not hard to recall his movements and she felt even much more comfortable now that she was doing it another time. It really felt like she was starting to get the hang of it, which was a huge relief. Once done, she glanced back at her master expectantly. She was starting to feel a little exhausted again, but since she assumed that they wouldn't train much longer, she didn't see the need to relieve herself of the exhaustion right away.

@LouJoVi

 

[Pêro Erval]

”I was thirteen years old when I built my lightsaber. I went to collect my kyber crystal with some other Padawans.” to remember it made Pêro think about how these events seemed to have happened a lifetime ago. Sometimes he still misses when he was only a youngling. Life seemed to be so simple.

The G’weneen watched his Padawan repeat the movements of Form I. This time Hailee was more certain of the movements that she was doing. The Knight smiled, he was certain that after some more training missions, the woman would not be afraid of using a lightsaber anymore.

Once she finished, Pêro would approach her. “Good work! I think that we can finish for today. We are going to continue training with Form I during the rest of the week. You can meet me tomorrow after breakfast.” since they weren’t going out of the Temple, there wasn’t the necessity of them waking up so early like today. “Now, let’s go. You need to take a shower before dinner.”

@LadyRen

 

[Hailee Lightwood]

She deactivated the lightsaber and listened to his story and his smile made her smile. It must have been beautiful to grow up here on the temple grounds since he always had the Jedi. Even though she hadn't been here for long, she had already experienced this wonderful, warm feeling of togetherness. They were indeed like a family and it was nice to know that he grew up with them. She knew his story already, but the part with the Kyber crystals and the lightsaber was new and it was a very beautiful story. "That's really nice. This also means that you had your lightsaber for quite some time", she concluded with a warm smile.

When she was done and he approached her, she placed the training saber back into its box. She was now much more exhausted and even if she could have gone on, stopping here for today wouldn't be such a bad choice. His last remark, however, made her smirk. "Yes, I agree. It sounds good to take a break now, but that last comment of yours is veeery charming, I've got to admit that", she then replied amusedly, slightly teasing him for telling her that she was supposed to take a shower now. A shower sounded great, but the way he said it was amusing indeed.

@LouJoVi